A Cherokee County jury convicted a Boaz man in May in connection with stealing nearly $20,000 worth of cattle from William Camper and Brodie Pack in June 2014.
Michael Chad Stephens, 35, was convicted of Receiving Stolen Property First Degree in connection with stolen Charolais cattle taken from a pasture near his Etowah County home.
About a year after the theft, in June 2015, an Etowah County investigator learned the missing cattle were on a Cherokee County farm. Special Agents Ira J. Whitehead and Tim Mathews of the Alabama Agricultural and Rural Crime Unit (ARCU), a division of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, assisted the local investigator in the case.
Deputy District Attorney Scott Lloyd prosecuted the case. He told jurors the cattle sold for such a low price it was obvious they were stolen.
Law enforcement officials said a case is pending against the suspect who purchased the cattle from Stephens. The stolen cattle included eight cows, two calves and a bull, which sold for about half their estimated value.
To report rural crime, call ARCU at 1-855-75-CRIME or visit ARCU.Alabama.gov.